Context

This line is from the song "The Rose," written by Amanda McBroom, from the album The Rose (1979).

The 1979 movie The Rose is all about a self-destructive rock star who is trying to escape her wild and crazy past, and maybe find love in the process. One of her songs, "The Rose," is all about the ways people see love. Some folks think that love is a dangerous thing. It can hurt you. It can tear you up inside. But maybe, just maybe, love is like a seed you plant in the ground, and water it to make it grow. Maybe love is like a rose that you need to take care of, but that will blossom into something beautiful one day.

Here's hoping that she's right.

Where you've heard it

Many folks have compared love to roses or flowers or seeds, but you've probably heard this quote when people are talking about all the different ways folks see love. Hey, love is a many-splendored thing.

• This is Peter's favorite driving song on Family Guy.
• It also made an appearance in Napoleon Dynamite with the Happy Hands Club.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

The hopeless romantic vibe of this quote makes you sound just a tiny bit more pretentious than usual, but we can't fault you too much. We here at Shmoop are suckers for a good love story, too.